Ore-roasting oven



March-6, 1945. H. H. HARRIS I 2,370,659

ORE ROASTING OVEN Filed Oct. 5,1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 B ja M d ATTORNEYMarch 6, 1945. H; H. HARRIS ORE ROASTING OVEN Filed Oct. 5, 1942 sSheets-Sheet s v lNVEN TOR HENRY H- HARRIS BY W a, d We. ATTORNEYPatented Mar. 6, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RE -R0AS'1"INGOVENHenry IL Harris, Champaign, Ill. Application October 5, 1942,.Serial.No. 460,909

12 Claims. (o1. assm) My inventionrelates to ore roasting ovens, and inparticular, to roasting, ovens within which retorts or other orecontainers are diSp0S8d';d111-' ing the roasting of the ore, or may beused for,

reduction treatment of metal as magnesium.

Retorts commonly used in roasting processes are relatively elongated,.hollow cylindrical tubes or high .heat'and corrosion resisting metalal-'- loys. ofthe necessary materials makes their protection andcontinuously eflicient operationimportant, and the furnace of myinvention is well adaptednot onlyto protect the retort against thedestructive effects of furnace operation, but also" to insure operationat peak e'fi'iciency. Their exaggerated length in respect of diameterand wall thickness is'dictated'by the necessity for uniform'heatapplication to the interior thereof, and they must be protected duringexpansion and contraction',-I have found, in order to prevent prematurecracking, sagging and consequent failure.

According to one well-known process, the retort is charged with oreandsubjected'to heat within the furnace. The metal volatized by the heatmoves to the cooler or charging end of the retort, as is customary, atwhich point it is condensed. The. retort is periodically opened, thecondensate, removed, and the spent ores taken out. 'I'heretortisrefilled with anew charge and again subjected. to heat. The weight ofthe load isoriginally distributed-over that portion of the retort which;is within the; furnace. As a result of'the heat treating :process,themetalisvolatilizedi from the ore and-moves toward the cooler portionof the retort, outside of the furnace, where it is condensed. Therexisthus a shifting ofthe weight within the retort, from one end thereof. tothe other. I The retorts are thusnot only subjected to the intense heatsand thermal Their cost, and the present-day scarcity I shocks incidentto the cyclic nature of the process, but also to the destructive eifectsof expansion while loaded under heat, and the sub-- sequent contractionwhen the heat isabated.

"The main object of my invention, therefore, is the provision of an oreroasting oven in which meansare provided to support and protect theore-containing retorts during the entire roasting process.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an ore roasting ovenwith means thereinto support a plurality of'ore-containing retorts-at aplurality of points, and means are-provided at these points tocompensate for changes] in theposition oftheretort.

provision of means, in an ore roasting oven, to

support'a plurality of retorts therein each at a plurality of points,and m-eansto permit the retorts to expand and contract underthe-infiuence of'the supporting means.

.A still further object of my invention is -the provision, in an oreroasting oven, of a plurality of piers, which may be evenlyspacedjalong' the furnace length, having retort supporting meansthereonand 'therethrough.

A still further object of my inventioni the provision, in an oreroasting oven, of a pluralityof saddle-topped piers to support retortswithin the oven, the saddles being laterally yieldable to compensate forchanges in retort expansion and contraction.

Other and further.objects of my inventionwill' I be apparent from thefollowing description of anillustrative. embodiment, and still otherswill be specifically pointed out. For convenience, -I will describe myinvention in respect of an ap paratus for the roasting of ores or it maybe used for reduction of magnesium from magnesiumcontaining ores,although my invention is not to be limited except by the scope of theannexed claims.

In the drawings annexed hereto, forming a part hereof, v

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectionthrough one form of ovenconstructed accord-'- ing to and embodying my invention, several of the'retorts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of my invention, a seen from thecharging end thereof, the

erallycylindrical casing l2, of high heat and corrosion resistingmaterial, which casing is closed at both ends thereof. The innersurfaceof the oven is lined with suitable refractory ma- Within the interior ofthe oven chamber 24,

I erect a plurality of piers 26, 26, each of which may extend completelyacross the chamber, and evenly spaced apart along the length thereof(see Figs. 1 and 2). Piers 26, 26, are built of fire brick or othersuitable heat resisting material,

and rise to just below the center line of chamber.

The use of piers, as 26, evenly spaced along the furnace length mayprovide brute support for the retorts 30, 30, but this mere verticalline support for the retorts is not sufficient under expansion andcontraction, and I have, therefore, devised means to provide lateralsupport as well as vertical line support for the retorts within myfurnace. I provide a number of openings, as 28, 28, through the piers26, 26, said openings 28, 28, being formed in longitudinal alignmentalong the line of oven length. As will be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, my ovenmay be constructed to receive therewithin seven retorts 30, 30, and Iarrange them in spaced-apart relation to permit free flow and readyaccess of heat thereto. Three of the retorts are substantially on thecenter line of the furnace, with two above and two below, staggered invertical alignment.

Atop the piers 26, and on the bottoms of openings 28,28, I place saddlesor cradles 50, 50. The

saddles comprise metallic castings, having flat floor portions to restatop the furnace piers and the pier openings; leg members 52, 52,depending from the sides thereof to straddle the piers and secure thedevice thereof; raised sides 54, 54, and concavely curved bed portions56. A rectangular openwork frame 60 is provided for each saddle, theends $2 of which frame are straight. The sides 64'. of frame 60 aredownwardly curved to conform to the curvature of bed 55, and the framesare of such size as to overlie and rest directly upon the saddles 50.Frame and members 62, 62, are provided with a plurality of alignedapertures 66, 66, and a similar plurality of wire cables 68, 68, of highheat resisting material are thread-ed therethrough across the frameandsecured to the frame sides 62, 62, as by welding .or otherwise, asindicated at f'I0. Cables 68 are longer than the distance between theend members of frame 60, and sag down-- wardly to conform to thecurvature of the frame side bars 64 and saddle bed 56. The constructionillustrated in Figs. 4 to 6, inclusive, describes the type of saddleplaced across openings. 20 through piers 26. The three saddles mountedatop piers 26 are ubstantially identical, differing only in havingconnecting 1ll'lkS,BU, 80,;and the two topmost saddles are also similarin construction, except that they are mounted atop stubpiers 92, 92,which extend upwardly from the top of pier 2B, and are connected by alink 99.'

The elongated retorts 36 are supported within the oven by the saddles50, 50, aligned along piers 26. -The cables 68 on the saddle frames 60take the retort weight, and are deformable to some slight extent tocushion the retort and yieldably' support same against deformation underheat and weight. Each saddle is independent of the other, except thatoriginally they are all mounted on a common level.

- The front end 10 of each retort projects out of the oven and throughsuitable openings 12 in the front end cover I4 thereof. A hanger bar I6is provided for each retort, having a stirrup member 18 at the bottomthereof to receive the retort therethrough. The upper end of each hangerI6 is .pivotally connected to a rod I00 extending along the furnacelength and secured atop the oven. Rods I00, I00 are pivoted near thefront ends thereof, and are provided with counterweights C. A number ofviewing openings P may be formed in the rear end wall I6, and also inthe sides of the oven proper, so that the interior of the oven and theactions of the retorts may be inspected during the process, and thecounterweights shifted back and forth along rods I00 to raise or lowerthe retorts in response to oven conditions.

As seen in Fig. 1, the retorts are supported mainly by the saddle-toppedpiers. The extending portion I0 are supported by hanger bars 16. Thereis preferably no contact between the retort and the'oven end I4, throughwhich the retort projects out of the oven.

A tapered collar 91 is provided, having longitudinal slits 99, andfitted over each retort at the opening in the oven end I4 (see Fig. 1).This collar acts to absorb the temperature differential between theparts of the retort in and out of the oven at the zone of change.

My saddles 5a, with their cable loops, permit the retorts to movelaterally under expansion and contraction. The deformability of thecables provides a cushioning seat for the loaded retorts which arethereby upported vertically and in a lateral direction. Thecounterweight system at the frontof the oven permits adjustment of levelfor optimum distribution of retort weight throughout the reducingprocess.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a roasting oven of the character .described, a plurality oflongitudinally disposed retorts within the oven, means to support eachthereof at a plurality'of points within the oven, and heat responsivemeans to permit the expansion and contraction of the retorts under theinfluence of thesupporting means, said supporting means being adjustablein response to heat conditions within the oven. 2. In a roasting oven ofthe character described, a plurality of retorts disposed within theoven-and having a portion of each retort projecting laterally out-fromthe oven, and mean to support each retort at a plurality of points, someof which supporting means are within the oven and others of which areWithout the oven, all of said supporting means permitting lateral move,-ment of the retorts in response to heat conditions within the oven.

3. In an oven as in claim 2, the supporting means without the oven beingvertically adjustable to compensate for movement of theretorts Withinthe oven.

4. In an oven of the character described, a retort, mean within andwithout the oven to support said retort, the means within the ovensupporting the retort frombelow, and the means without the ovensupporting-the retort from above, both means being adjustable tocompensate for heat conditions, within the oven.

5. An oven as in claim 4, in which the supportingmeans within the ovenpermit lateral movement of the retort in both directions in response toheat conditions within the oven.

6. An oven as in claim 4, in which the supporting means Without the ovenalso permit lateral movement of the retort and are vertically adjustableto compensate for changes in the horizontality of the retort. '7. In aroasting oven of the character described, a pluralit of retortshorizontally disposed within the oven, means to support each thereof ata plurality of points, and means to permit change in the horizontalityof the retorts under the influence of the supporting means.

8. In an oven of the character described, a retort and means to supportsame within the oven comprising a plurality of piers, -means thereon toyieldably receive the retort while permitting lateral movement thereofunder expansion and contraction.

9. In an oven of the character described, a

retort and means to support same within the oven, said support meanscomprising a plurality of piers arranged lengthwise of the oven, andhaving saddles thereon, to'yieldably receive the retort While permittinglateral movement thereof under expansion and contraction, said saddlesbeing shaped to receive the retorts and having cushioning membersextending thereacross to ioning means stretching across the frame, the

- cushioning means being yieldable to absorb retort weight to someextent While permitting lateral movement of the retort in respectthereof. 12. In an oven of the character described, a plurality ofretort-receiving saddles, in longitudinal alignment, each saddlecomprising a shaped base member to receive the retort thereon and havinga similarly shaped frame fitting thereover, the frame having a pluralityof transversely arranged retort cushioning members, the cushioningmembers being conformable to the retort shape and laterally shiftable topermit retort movement under expansion and contraction.

HENRY H. HARRIS.

